As more investors shift to a risk-off mindset and embrace gold, China’s influence is growing on the global market for the precious metal. Acknowledging China’s increasing presence in the world gold market, the CME Group, a leading futures and derivatives exchange, is expanding its market offerings with the launch of two new gold futures products in October.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on September 5, 2019 via Legacy Research Group.He's one of the best "noses" in our business…Our master trader, Jeff Clark, is a long-term gold bull.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsLike the rest of us here at Legacy Research, Jeff has a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to the stability of the financial system… and government-issued currencies.In fact, he believes gold is one of the best long-term investments in the world right now. * 7 "Boring" Stocks With Exciting Prospects But Jeff's bread and butter is sniffing out short-term market moves… and trading them for profits.And he has one of the best noses in the business.Here's what he told readers of our free trading newsletter, Market Minute, yesterday at 7:30 a.m. ET. That's two hours ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. Jeff…The gold sector is on the verge of generating its first sell signal since 2016.Gold stocks have had an amazing run higher over the past few months. The sector has been much stronger than I anticipated. And the current rally has lasted much longer than I thought it would.But the gold sector remains vulnerable to a sharp and swift pullback.And this morning, at 7:30 ET, he issued a second warning. He wrote to Market Minute readers:Buying into the gold sector right now is a mistake. You'll have a better chance to do so in the weeks ahead.Let's be clear… Gold stocks are in a new, long-term bull market. They will be higher several months from now than where they are today. But, in the short term, they're most likely headed lower.It was an uncanny call.Look what happened to gold stocks next…The chart below is of the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA:GDX). It tracks the performance of 44 top global gold mining stocks. As you can see, it fell more than 5% today.Gold bullion prices are also on the retreat. Gold fell 2.2% today, from $1,553 to $1,519.And as we'll show you in today's dispatch, Jeff believes there'll be more of a pullback over the coming weeks.It's not a reason to panic… or sell your gold. But it does indicate better buying opportunities ahead if you're still adding to your position.At the Cut, we've been bullish on gold for more than a year…In fact, the first recommendation from the Legacy team that we wrote to you about was to buy gold.That was in August 2018. Gold was beaten down and hated. And colleagues E.B. Tucker and Dave Forest were telling their readers to get ready for a turnaround.Since then, gold is up 26%.And gold stocks have done even better.Even after today's pullback, GDX is up 52% since our call last August.There's still plenty more upside ahead for gold…E.B., our go-to gold expert at Legacy, says he wouldn't be surprised to see it take out its all-time high of $1,900 an ounce.That's a 25% gain from here.And E.B. isn't the only gold bull on the Legacy team. Bill Bonner, Doug Casey, Teeka Tiwari, Dan Denning, Nick Giambruno, and Dave Forest are also long-term gold bulls.So is Jeff.But that doesn't mean gold will go up in a straight line…Over the long term, the markets move in long, powerful trends.Here at the Cut, we call them megatrends. They're the kind of trends you can profit from over years… even decades.But over the short term, markets move like a rubber band. Regular readers know what we mean. As Jeff has put it before in these pages, the market gets stretched too far in one direction, then it snaps back.And that's what happening right now with gold and gold stocks.It's all in the chart below…It's of the Gold Miners Bullish Percent Index ($BPGDM).This is a tool Jeff uses to tell him how far the rubber band has stretched on gold stocks.Here's Jeff with more…A bullish percent index gauges overbought and oversold conditions. It tells us when the proverbial rubber band is stretched too far in one direction.Typically, a sector is extremely overbought when its bullish percent index hits 80 or above. It's extremely oversold when it drops to 20 or below.For example, last September, we reached a deeply oversold reading of 13. That's the left arrow on the chart. That triggered a buy signal for gold stocks. It took a while to get going, but that turned out to be one heck of a buy signal. Since then, the gold mining sector is up 65%.That's great for folks who bought into the gold rally last September. And if you're a longtime Daily Cut reader, that hopefully includes you.But that run-up stretched the rubber band too far in one direction… and now we're seeing it snap back.Again, this is not a reason to panic… or sell your gold…But after its big run-up, the gold market does look like it's taking a breather.Here's Jeff with more on what that means for you…The GDX gold miners ETF is trading almost 39% above where it started the year. Now is probably a good time to press pause on buying gold stocks.We last got a BPGDM sell signal in August 2016. GDX was trading above $30 a share. Two months later, it was down to $23. That's a 23% drop.I'm not saying we're headed for the same sort of decline this time around. But I am suggesting that now is probably not the best time to be putting new money to work in the gold sector. We'll likely have a better chance to do so in the months ahead.If you own gold already, that means sitting tight. And as Jeff said above, if you're adding to your portfolio, now's a good time to hit pause.And of course, when Jeff sounds the all clear again, we'll update you on that.In the meantime, if you're interested in learning more about how Jeff profits from gold… whichever way it's trending… make sure and check out his new presentation.It's about a trading technique that offers up to 5 or 10 times bigger gains in the gold market… in a fraction of the time.Check it out here.Next week, we'll be coming back to gold's sister metal, silver…Gold wasn't the only metal pulling back. Silver is also down 5% over the past 24 hours.But as we told you yesterday, silver is crucial to one fast-growing energy market. It's why E.B. calls silver the "energy metal."And as you'll see, it's going to cause demand for silver to soar.Stay tuned for more on that next week.Regards,Chris Lowe September 5, 2019 Lisbon, Portugal More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 3 Artificial Intelligence Stocks to Buy * 7 Industrial Stocks to Buy for a Strong U.S. Economy * 3 Beaten-Down Bank Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Long Term The post The Daily Cut: Better Buying Opportunities Lie Ahead for Gold appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Gold’s short-term direction is down, according to contrarian analysis. This forecast has nothing to do with Thursday’s big drop in bullion’s price. Consider the average recommended gold (GC00)(GCU19) exposure level among several dozen short-term gold timers I monitor on a daily basis (as measured by the Hulbert Gold Newsletter Sentiment Index, or HGNSI).

The gold sector is on the verge of generating its first sell signal since 2016.Gold stocks have had an amazing run higher over the past few months. The sector has been much stronger than I anticipated. And, the current rally has lasted much longer than I thought it would.But, the gold sector remains vulnerable to a sharp and swift pullback. And even though my mom isn't talking to me these days because I talked her out of buying gold stocks last month, my advice to her would still be the same today…InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips * 7 Deeply Discounted Energy Stocks to Buy You will have a better opportunity to buy gold stocks at lower prices in the weeks and months ahead. One of my favorite gold-stock timing indicators is on the verge of a sell signal.Take a look at this chart of the Gold Miners Bullish Percent Index ($BPGDM)…A bullish percent index is a gauge of overbought and oversold conditions. It measures the percentage of stocks in a sector that are trading in a bullish technical formation. Since it's measured as a percentage, a bullish percent index can only reach as high as 100 or fall as low as zero.Typically, a sector is extremely overbought when its bullish percent index rallies above 80. It's extremely oversold when it drops below 20. Trading signals get triggered when the index reaches extreme levels and then reverses.For example, last September, the $BPGDM turned higher from a deeply oversold reading of 13. That action triggered a "buy" signal. At the time, the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners Fund (GDX) was trading for a little less than $19 per share. Yesterday, GDX closed around $30.50.It took a while to get going, but that turned out to be one heck of a buy signal.Today, though, things look a little different.The $BPGDM is trading above 87. That indicates an extremely overbought condition.It hasn't turned lower. So we don't yet have a "sell" signal. But, the gold sector is clearly overbought. And with GDX trading nearly 50% higher than where it started the year, now is probably not a good time to be buying into the sector.The last time we got a $BPGDM sell signal was back in August 2016. That also happens to be the last time the Commercial Trader net-short interest was over 330,000 contracts. That was also the last time GDX was trading above $30 per share.Two months later, GDX was back down to $23.Now, I'm not saying we're headed for the same sort of decline this time around. I'm just suggesting that right now is probably not the best time to be putting new money to work in the gold sector. We'll likely have a better chance to do so in the months ahead.Best regards and good trading,Jeff Clark In Case You Missed It…Claim The Complete Blueprint From America's Top Options ExpertFor the past 36 years, millionaire trader Jeff Clark's options strategies have helped everyday people have the chance to retire wealthy.Which is why Jeff's now offering his complete Blueprint, and a year of his guidance, for just $19.That's right… for a limited time, it's all yours for less than twenty bucks.Because Jeff knows that every dollar that you use on his strategies could turn into a windfall in a short amount of time.Get started here. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Deeply Discounted Energy Stocks to Buy * 7 Stocks to Buy In a Flat Market * 10 Stocks to Buy to Ride China's Emerging Wealth The post Jeff Clark's Market Minute: This Hasn't Happened in Three Years appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Precious metals scored impressive gains in August, with gold logging a fourth consecutive monthly rise and silver steadily outpacing the price climb of its sister metal. Both have plenty of reasons to move even higher in the weeks to come.

Why store wealth in a fiat currency?From the start of the new millennium, gold has been rising against unbacked government-issued currencies (aka "fiat").It hasn't been a straight shot higher. But the trend is clear.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsThe following chart shows the exchange rates of gold and major fiat currencies going back to 2001.You can see gold has been rising in value versus its fiat counterparts.And as we showed you yesterday, there's another reason you want to own gold…The monster gold rally that's on its way.Yesterday, we showed you why you should own some physical gold first. Today, we're going to focus on how you can supercharge your gold gains with gold mining stocks.Gold is up 26% over the past 12 months…It's trounced stocks. The S&P 500 - our regular stand-in for the U.S. stock market - is down 0.5% over that time.But that's nothing compared with the gains for gold mining stocks.We'll use the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) as our proxy. It tracks the performance of 44 top global gold mining stocks.As you can see, GDX is up 56% over the past 12 months. That's two times more than physical gold.Gold miners give you "leverage" over the gold price…This is what makes them so attractive as speculations on a rising gold price.Leverage is Wall Street speak for extra oomph.When the gold price goes up (or down) by 1%… gold mining stocks tend to go up (or down) by more than 1%. Sometimes a lot more.Here's an example of how it works…Gold mining companies have a fixed cost to mine. It doesn't matter if gold is selling at $1,000 or at $1,500 an ounce… miners' costs stay the same.If a mining company is mining gold at $900 an ounce… and the gold price is $1,000 an ounce… the company books a profit of $100 an ounce.But if the gold price climbs to $1,500, the company now books a $600 profit. That's a 500% jump in profits for the mining company, even though gold went up only 67%.Yesterday, gold expert E.B. Tucker showed you why a monster rally is on the way…E.B. heads up our Strategic Investor and Strategic Trader advisories.He's also a gold industry insider… and an expert on the gold market.E.B. is on the board of a fast-growing gold mine financing company. And before joining the team at Legacy Research, he comanaged a fund that invested in gold mining stocks.And E.B. reckons we're still in the early part of the gold cycle. As he put it yesterday…The most important thing to understand about gold is it's a cyclical market. When gold was at $1,900 an ounce back at its peak in 2011 you had Mr. T doing gold commercials. You had "Cash for Gold" signs everywhere. Those were overenthusiastic conditions.At the bottom of the market, you have the opposite. You have guys who have been in the business for decades saying there's no way any price jump is real.And despite the recent gains, that's where we are now. The guys running the leading gold mining companies are demoralized. They're beaten. They just can't believe the gold rally is real. Fear is still the dominant emotion. So now is the time to make your investment in gold… and sit tight.How do you invest?E.B. says the first move is to buy physical gold. (If you haven't already read yesterday's dispatch, catch up here.)Once you own some bars or coins, you'll also want to make some smaller speculative bets on gold mining stocks.Take a look at this next chart. It's of the last three gold booms. And it shows the rise in the gold price versus the average share price rise for gold mining companies.As you can see… during the 1979-1980 gold boom, physical gold soared 214%. But gold mining stocks shot up 323%.Then, in the 1990s, gold climbed 8%. The average gold mining stocks climbed more than 200%.And from 2001-2006, the average gold mining stock gained more than 400%… as gold climbed 158%.E.B. expects the same pattern to play out this time around…It's why he's been urging readers of our Strategic Investor advisory to buy best-in-breed gold stocks.As he explained it…Physical gold is money. You don't speculate with physical gold. You're not buying it to see a huge appreciation and then sell again.Physical gold - bullion or coins - is money you own and trade for whatever you need. It's a good form of money to own on your personal balance sheet because it's not someone else's promise to pay.Mining stocks, on the other hand, are speculations. They're moonshots. They give you leverage to the gold price. You see explosive moves higher in gold mining stocks when the gold price is climbing.E.B. recommends individual gold stocks at Strategic Investor. If you're a paid-up subscriber to that letter, you can catch up on the full details of E.B.'s model portfolio here.Your next best option is to buy a basket of gold mining stocks…The most popular way is through the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX).As we mentioned up top, it holds shares in 44 top global gold mining companies.This is the easiest alternative to picking individual gold mining stocks. It's not the perfect play, because not all the companies it tracks are best-in-breed. But it will give you broad exposure to rising prices in gold mining stocks.Regards,Chris Lowe August 29, 2019 Lisbon, Portugal More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * The 8 Worst Stocks to Buy Before the Trade Turmoil Cools Off * 7 'Strong Buy' Stocks to Beat Volatility * 7 Mega-Cap Tech Stocks on a Rebound Now The post Supercharge Your Gold Gains With Gold Stocks appeared first on InvestorPlace.

The stock market took a gut punch recently as a number of on-again, off-again headwinds started to blow at the same time. Investors quickly turned tail, seeking out more protective positions. Unsurprisingly, this trend led to an influx of inflows into some of the best defensive exchange-traded funds (ETFs).The Federal Reserve knocked Wall Street off-balance with a recent quarter-point drop in its benchmark Fed funds rate. Yes, it was the first such cut since the Great Recession. But some investors were hoping for a deeper reduction, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's subsequent press conference kept experts guessing about whether future rate cuts were any more or less likely.The U.S.-China trade war escalated next. At the start of August, President Donald Trump threatened to slap a 10% tariff on another $300 billion in Chinese imports effective Sept. 1, prompting Beijing to threaten retaliation. So far, China has announced it will suspend imports of U.S. agricultural products and let its currency, the yuan, tumble to an 11-year-low. The latter move is expected to agitate Trump, who has accused Beijing of currency manipulation in the past.Standard & Poor's 500-stock index dropped quickly, losing almost 4% between the July 30 close (the day before the Fed announcement) and the Aug. 5 market open. Some investors are going to cash - but others are seeking out areas of the market that might rise as the market falls, or places to collect dividends while waiting out the volatility.Here, we examine 11 of the best ETFs to buy if you're looking for portfolio protection. This relatively small cluster of funds covers a lot of ground, including high-dividend sectors, low-volatility ETFs, gold, bonds and even a simple, direct market hedge. SEE ALSO: The Kip ETF 20: The 20 Best Cheap ETFs You Can Buy

Bullion is being bolstered by global central banks on multiple fronts. Not only are central banks, in both developed and emerging markets, seemingly racing to lower interest rates, many of those banks are also gobbling up gold. The SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD), the world's largest ETF backed by physical holdings of gold, is indeed in a bull market and that status is important.

Trade has played foul on Wall Street throughout August, sending the broad indices into a tailspin, thus compelling investors to flock to gold as a great store of value and hedge against market turmoil.

With the capital markets uncertain on how to approach equities with trade wars and inverted yield curves on the horizon, its increased the taste for safe-haven assets like gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs). In Monday's trading session, gold was up more than 1 percent to pass the $1,550 per ounce price mark for the first time in more than six years. U.S. gold futures were up 0.1% at $1,538.90.

There are a bunch of reasons why gold recently hit a six-year high. But one stands out ahead of the pack -- and it's something most Americans don't grasp because it sounds downright crazy, explains Sean Brodrick, contributing editor of Weiss Ratings.